WEBVTT 1 00:00:07.919 --> 00:00:10.639 - Hello, and welcome to this episode of the 2 00:00:10.639 --> 00:00:12.419 - Physics World weekly podcast, 3 00:00:12.799 --> 00:00:14.980 - which is sponsored by one physics. 4 00:00:15.955 --> 00:00:18.754 - Our guest this week is James Gilts of 5 00:00:18.754 --> 00:00:19.574 - one Physics. 6 00:00:20.355 --> 00:00:23.554 - In a wide ranging conversation with Physics World's 7 00:00:23.554 --> 00:00:24.454 - Tammy Freeman, 8 00:00:24.835 --> 00:00:28.134 - Gilts explains how the company provides comprehensive 9 00:00:28.914 --> 00:00:30.454 - medical physics support 10 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:31.539 - for radiotherapy, 11 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:36.100 - from planning new centers through to ongoing 12 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:37.700 - clinical operations. 13 00:00:38.559 --> 00:00:42.100 - That conversation is coming up after this message 14 00:00:42.239 --> 00:00:43.379 - from our sponsor. 15 00:00:44.645 --> 00:00:46.424 - One Physics is The USA's 16 00:00:46.965 --> 00:00:49.865 - largest outsourced medical physics provider, 17 00:00:50.484 --> 00:00:52.565 - trusted by over 4,000 18 00:00:52.565 --> 00:00:53.065 - clients. 19 00:00:53.765 --> 00:00:58.024 - We proudly deliver diagnostic and therapy physics services, 20 00:00:58.750 --> 00:01:00.449 - linear accelerator commissioning, 21 00:01:00.989 --> 00:01:01.489 - dosimetry 22 00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:04.049 - treatment planning, and radiation 23 00:01:04.430 --> 00:01:06.049 - safety officer services 24 00:01:06.509 --> 00:01:07.009 - nationwide. 25 00:01:08.030 --> 00:01:10.849 - We are experts in medical physics services 26 00:01:11.310 --> 00:01:12.129 - and radiation 27 00:01:12.430 --> 00:01:12.930 - safety 28 00:01:13.284 --> 00:01:15.305 - and can support your organization, 29 00:01:15.924 --> 00:01:19.204 - whether you need annual physics testing to meet 30 00:01:19.204 --> 00:01:19.704 - regulatory 31 00:01:20.084 --> 00:01:20.584 - guidelines 32 00:01:21.204 --> 00:01:22.905 - or are looking to implement 33 00:01:23.204 --> 00:01:23.944 - a theranostics 34 00:01:24.405 --> 00:01:24.905 - program. 35 00:01:25.659 --> 00:01:28.700 - We are experts in all areas related to 36 00:01:28.700 --> 00:01:30.879 - physics and radiation safety. 37 00:01:31.420 --> 00:01:34.000 - With national scale and a local 38 00:01:34.459 --> 00:01:36.079 - relationship driven approach, 39 00:01:36.459 --> 00:01:38.239 - our best in class physicists 40 00:01:38.805 --> 00:01:42.984 - bring precision and personalized care to every facility 41 00:01:43.125 --> 00:01:43.865 - we serve. 42 00:01:44.405 --> 00:01:47.305 - In the world of medical physics, precision 43 00:01:47.685 --> 00:01:48.584 - isn't optional. 44 00:01:49.045 --> 00:01:49.944 - It's everything. 45 00:01:50.805 --> 00:01:51.625 - One Physics, 46 00:01:51.939 --> 00:01:54.680 - your trusted partner in medical physics, 47 00:01:55.060 --> 00:01:59.079 - linear accelerator commissioning, and radiation safety. 48 00:01:59.780 --> 00:02:03.560 - Learn more about our approach to radiation safety 49 00:02:03.859 --> 00:02:05.479 - or schedule a personalized 50 00:02:05.939 --> 00:02:06.439 - consultation 51 00:02:07.135 --> 00:02:08.034 - at 1physics.com. 52 00:02:17.375 --> 00:02:20.414 - Radiation therapy is an essential component of cancer 53 00:02:20.414 --> 00:02:22.379 - care and is used in the treatment of 54 00:02:22.379 --> 00:02:24.319 - roughly half of all cancer patients. 55 00:02:25.260 --> 00:02:27.500 - To ensure that these treatments are both safe 56 00:02:27.500 --> 00:02:30.719 - and effective, it's critical that the linear accelerators 57 00:02:31.260 --> 00:02:32.080 - or LINACs 58 00:02:32.379 --> 00:02:33.680 - that deliver the radiation 59 00:02:34.235 --> 00:02:35.134 - are as reliable, 60 00:02:35.435 --> 00:02:37.455 - efficient, and accurate as possible. 61 00:02:38.715 --> 00:02:41.055 - The US based medical physics consultancy, 62 00:02:41.514 --> 00:02:42.334 - One Physics, 63 00:02:42.875 --> 00:02:45.435 - aims to help hospitals and cancer centers meet 64 00:02:45.435 --> 00:02:46.175 - these goals 65 00:02:46.490 --> 00:02:49.069 - by bringing together a team of highly trained 66 00:02:49.210 --> 00:02:50.590 - expert medical physicists 67 00:02:50.969 --> 00:02:53.310 - to provide a wide range of radiotherapy 68 00:02:53.770 --> 00:02:56.030 - and diagnostic imaging physics services. 69 00:02:57.290 --> 00:03:00.525 - I'm speaking today with medical physicist James Gilts, 70 00:03:01.084 --> 00:03:03.664 - director of commissioning services at one physics, 71 00:03:04.284 --> 00:03:06.384 - about the importance of linac commissioning 72 00:03:07.004 --> 00:03:09.084 - and how the company works with health care 73 00:03:09.084 --> 00:03:09.584 - organizations 74 00:03:10.204 --> 00:03:13.185 - to optimize patient safety and clinical efficiency. 75 00:03:14.125 --> 00:03:15.780 - Welcome to the podcast, James. 76 00:03:17.139 --> 00:03:18.919 - Thank you. Thank you for having me. 77 00:03:19.939 --> 00:03:22.900 - So could you start by giving a quick 78 00:03:22.900 --> 00:03:25.800 - introduction to the services that One Physics offers 79 00:03:25.860 --> 00:03:27.240 - and your role in the company? 80 00:03:28.419 --> 00:03:29.639 - Absolutely. So 81 00:03:30.004 --> 00:03:33.544 - One Physics is a comprehensive medical physics services 82 00:03:33.604 --> 00:03:34.745 - company. We, 83 00:03:36.084 --> 00:03:37.764 - like to do what I think some of 84 00:03:37.764 --> 00:03:39.145 - my colleagues would call, 85 00:03:39.525 --> 00:03:41.305 - cradle to grave physics support. 86 00:03:41.780 --> 00:03:44.500 - So we can support a center that is 87 00:03:44.500 --> 00:03:45.560 - not open yet, 88 00:03:46.180 --> 00:03:47.860 - all the way through its planning as it 89 00:03:47.860 --> 00:03:48.919 - relates to physics, 90 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:52.840 - through its opening as they install machines, qualify 91 00:03:52.900 --> 00:03:55.719 - them through either diagnostic or therapy services, 92 00:03:56.525 --> 00:03:59.264 - and then provide continuing physics support, 93 00:04:00.205 --> 00:04:03.104 - while they're open, either with direct physics staffing, 94 00:04:03.324 --> 00:04:04.305 - software tools, 95 00:04:05.164 --> 00:04:07.504 - ancillary contracts, those sorts of things. 96 00:04:08.250 --> 00:04:10.349 - My role in the company is to 97 00:04:10.650 --> 00:04:12.189 - address some of those ancillary 98 00:04:13.049 --> 00:04:14.909 - contracts and initial services. 99 00:04:15.530 --> 00:04:18.110 - So my team comes in and commissions machines, 100 00:04:18.810 --> 00:04:20.509 - performs shielding surveys, 101 00:04:20.935 --> 00:04:22.394 - shielding design calculations, 102 00:04:22.935 --> 00:04:24.074 - things of that nature. 103 00:04:25.495 --> 00:04:27.654 - Okay. So can you explain what the in 104 00:04:27.654 --> 00:04:29.435 - app commissioning actually involves? 105 00:04:29.814 --> 00:04:32.394 - And why is it so important for radiotherapy 106 00:04:32.774 --> 00:04:34.074 - based cancer treatments? 107 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:36.240 - Absolutely. 108 00:04:37.420 --> 00:04:39.520 - I kinda wanna answer those in the opposite 109 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:40.240 - order. 110 00:04:40.780 --> 00:04:43.900 - The LINAC commissioning is critical to any radiation 111 00:04:43.900 --> 00:04:47.259 - therapy department because as the treatment teams are 112 00:04:47.259 --> 00:04:48.400 - designing and delivering 113 00:04:49.085 --> 00:04:50.785 - these care plans for patients, 114 00:04:52.444 --> 00:04:54.625 - in order for those plans to be 115 00:04:55.245 --> 00:04:55.745 - generated, 116 00:04:56.285 --> 00:04:58.365 - a treatment planning system has to have a 117 00:04:58.365 --> 00:04:58.865 - comprehensive 118 00:04:59.725 --> 00:05:02.205 - model of the accelerator that's gonna be used 119 00:05:02.205 --> 00:05:02.670 - for treatment. 120 00:05:03.230 --> 00:05:03.730 - And 121 00:05:04.430 --> 00:05:05.250 - these models 122 00:05:05.629 --> 00:05:07.870 - have to be as precise as possible so 123 00:05:07.870 --> 00:05:09.550 - that we can take care of patients and 124 00:05:09.550 --> 00:05:11.410 - treat them efficiently and effectively. 125 00:05:13.470 --> 00:05:15.069 - What we have to do in order to 126 00:05:15.069 --> 00:05:16.449 - achieve that is 127 00:05:16.830 --> 00:05:19.564 - take a very, very large set 128 00:05:20.264 --> 00:05:22.584 - of data about the beam coming out of 129 00:05:22.584 --> 00:05:23.805 - the head of that machine. 130 00:05:24.504 --> 00:05:26.685 - This is a dataset that is more expansive 131 00:05:26.904 --> 00:05:28.584 - than would be taken at any other time 132 00:05:28.584 --> 00:05:29.879 - during the machine's life, 133 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:32.220 - taken with as many settings 134 00:05:32.520 --> 00:05:33.020 - as 135 00:05:33.560 --> 00:05:34.060 - practicable 136 00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:35.740 - for that system. 137 00:05:36.040 --> 00:05:38.759 - So how can one physics help in this 138 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:39.819 - commissioning process? 139 00:05:42.055 --> 00:05:42.555 - So 140 00:05:43.254 --> 00:05:45.735 - we have a team that is dedicated to 141 00:05:45.735 --> 00:05:49.014 - commissioning. This is, staffed by physicists who are 142 00:05:49.014 --> 00:05:50.555 - commissioning machines routinely 143 00:05:51.254 --> 00:05:51.754 - and, 144 00:05:52.454 --> 00:05:55.175 - using tools and techniques that we've developed over 145 00:05:55.175 --> 00:05:57.980 - the years as we have commissioned more accelerators 146 00:05:58.279 --> 00:06:00.060 - than any other group in America. 147 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:01.740 - This team 148 00:06:02.360 --> 00:06:04.759 - spends a great deal of time and effort 149 00:06:04.759 --> 00:06:05.259 - mastering 150 00:06:06.199 --> 00:06:06.939 - this process 151 00:06:07.800 --> 00:06:08.860 - and learning 152 00:06:09.274 --> 00:06:11.355 - for exactly what they should be looking for, 153 00:06:11.355 --> 00:06:13.375 - how these machines should be reacting, 154 00:06:13.675 --> 00:06:14.654 - and the consequences 155 00:06:15.274 --> 00:06:16.574 - of various measurements 156 00:06:17.355 --> 00:06:19.915 - behaving differently than expected, and what that could 157 00:06:19.915 --> 00:06:20.415 - mean 158 00:06:20.795 --> 00:06:22.795 - for the system, whether the machine needs to 159 00:06:22.795 --> 00:06:24.620 - be retuned, recalibrated, 160 00:06:25.080 --> 00:06:25.819 - or whether, 161 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.459 - it can be modeled effectively and safely. 162 00:06:29.879 --> 00:06:30.699 - We also 163 00:06:31.720 --> 00:06:34.279 - have so much data from the machines that 164 00:06:34.279 --> 00:06:36.254 - we've commissioned that we can check 165 00:06:37.295 --> 00:06:39.535 - all of the machines we commissioned in a 166 00:06:39.535 --> 00:06:41.395 - sort of three pass methodology. 167 00:06:42.014 --> 00:06:43.795 - We compare the machine against, 168 00:06:44.654 --> 00:06:46.194 - our own internal aggregates, 169 00:06:46.574 --> 00:06:49.375 - which are representative datasets from the machines that 170 00:06:49.375 --> 00:06:50.514 - we've collected historically. 171 00:06:51.110 --> 00:06:53.769 - We can compare them against the vendor representative 172 00:06:53.910 --> 00:06:55.189 - data. So the, 173 00:06:56.790 --> 00:06:59.589 - the data that the vendors believe is their 174 00:06:59.589 --> 00:07:00.889 - representative machine. 175 00:07:01.269 --> 00:07:04.069 - And then we also do a comprehensive point 176 00:07:04.069 --> 00:07:05.129 - by point comparison 177 00:07:06.185 --> 00:07:08.745 - from their own treatment planning system. Once we've 178 00:07:08.745 --> 00:07:09.724 - built the model, 179 00:07:10.024 --> 00:07:12.504 - we calculate all of the fields, all of 180 00:07:12.504 --> 00:07:13.485 - the output factors 181 00:07:14.024 --> 00:07:15.164 - that we took 182 00:07:15.704 --> 00:07:16.204 - during 183 00:07:16.904 --> 00:07:17.404 - measurement 184 00:07:17.785 --> 00:07:20.024 - and do a direct comparison to ensure that 185 00:07:20.024 --> 00:07:22.439 - the model is as precise as possible to 186 00:07:22.439 --> 00:07:22.939 - reality. 187 00:07:25.400 --> 00:07:27.960 - Okay. And and then what was the benefits 188 00:07:27.960 --> 00:07:29.980 - for a hospital or a cancer center, 189 00:07:30.839 --> 00:07:31.580 - of using 190 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:34.300 - a third party commissioning service, 191 00:07:34.754 --> 00:07:37.254 - for example, rather than the on-site physicists 192 00:07:37.555 --> 00:07:39.014 - just doing this work themselves? 193 00:07:40.435 --> 00:07:42.435 - That's a great question. There there's a lot 194 00:07:42.435 --> 00:07:43.254 - of advantages 195 00:07:43.634 --> 00:07:46.835 - depending on what that hospital is specifically looking 196 00:07:46.835 --> 00:07:47.335 - for. 197 00:07:47.875 --> 00:07:48.569 - One of 198 00:07:49.129 --> 00:07:50.029 - the big ones 199 00:07:50.410 --> 00:07:53.129 - that is important in the modern day of 200 00:07:53.129 --> 00:07:56.250 - healthcare as costs are getting tightened, constraints are 201 00:07:56.250 --> 00:07:56.750 - increasing, 202 00:07:57.370 --> 00:07:59.770 - is that we are so proficient at doing 203 00:07:59.770 --> 00:08:02.189 - this work that we have very rapid turnarounds 204 00:08:02.435 --> 00:08:03.895 - for these commissioning jobs. 205 00:08:04.514 --> 00:08:06.535 - A a typical site physicist 206 00:08:06.915 --> 00:08:09.975 - who maybe is performing a commissioning once every 207 00:08:10.035 --> 00:08:10.535 - ten, 208 00:08:10.835 --> 00:08:11.814 - fifteen years, 209 00:08:12.835 --> 00:08:14.134 - is going to rightly 210 00:08:14.529 --> 00:08:16.229 - take a very long time 211 00:08:16.930 --> 00:08:19.729 - to take these measurements and double check their 212 00:08:19.729 --> 00:08:22.050 - work and be as diligent as they're able 213 00:08:22.050 --> 00:08:22.709 - to be, 214 00:08:23.089 --> 00:08:25.569 - with their relative lack of experience in the, 215 00:08:25.569 --> 00:08:26.389 - in the medium. 216 00:08:26.769 --> 00:08:28.389 - We typically complete commissionings 217 00:08:28.995 --> 00:08:30.754 - in a two to three day time frame, 218 00:08:30.754 --> 00:08:33.154 - collecting all of the data, building the treatment 219 00:08:33.154 --> 00:08:35.875 - models, and validating those models, and then hand 220 00:08:35.875 --> 00:08:38.274 - it back to the site physicist to do 221 00:08:38.274 --> 00:08:39.975 - their final end to end testing. 222 00:08:40.595 --> 00:08:43.654 - This can get clinics online much faster 223 00:08:44.115 --> 00:08:46.350 - than they would be if they were using 224 00:08:46.409 --> 00:08:47.309 - internal services. 225 00:08:48.250 --> 00:08:51.149 - And then secondarily to that, there are 226 00:08:52.409 --> 00:08:54.889 - concerns, I would say, if you have an 227 00:08:54.889 --> 00:08:57.870 - on-site physicist who does not have the experience 228 00:08:58.184 --> 00:09:00.664 - that a dedicated third party commissioning team has 229 00:09:00.664 --> 00:09:03.225 - that doesn't have the sets of data to 230 00:09:03.225 --> 00:09:06.184 - compare to that we have where mistakes could 231 00:09:06.184 --> 00:09:08.985 - slip in to the data. Something could get 232 00:09:08.985 --> 00:09:11.384 - calculated incorrectly. An error could be made in 233 00:09:11.384 --> 00:09:11.884 - measurement, 234 00:09:12.264 --> 00:09:15.200 - and it's much harder for the standalone on-site 235 00:09:15.259 --> 00:09:17.279 - physicist to identify those faults. 236 00:09:18.379 --> 00:09:21.100 - That is part of why it rightly takes 237 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:23.580 - them so long to accomplish the work. But 238 00:09:23.580 --> 00:09:26.139 - even with that extra time that they spend, 239 00:09:26.139 --> 00:09:29.115 - there are literally thousands of data points that 240 00:09:29.115 --> 00:09:31.034 - they need to be checking and verifying. It's 241 00:09:31.034 --> 00:09:33.134 - very easy for something to slip through. 242 00:09:34.634 --> 00:09:36.634 - And is it also important that the client 243 00:09:36.634 --> 00:09:37.934 - uses a an independent 244 00:09:38.315 --> 00:09:40.254 - provider to commission a linac? 245 00:09:41.274 --> 00:09:43.440 - Absolutely. I think one of the pillars of 246 00:09:43.440 --> 00:09:46.179 - the medical physics community is, you know, independent 247 00:09:46.320 --> 00:09:47.460 - third party checks. 248 00:09:48.240 --> 00:09:51.360 - Most clinics, whether through regulation or just good 249 00:09:51.360 --> 00:09:54.720 - practice, use something like IIROC that does a 250 00:09:54.720 --> 00:09:57.700 - third party output validation of their machines. 251 00:09:58.024 --> 00:10:00.184 - You know, their, their on-site physicist, I'm sure 252 00:10:00.184 --> 00:10:01.945 - is doing good work and is doing the 253 00:10:01.945 --> 00:10:03.785 - best that they can when they calibrate the 254 00:10:03.785 --> 00:10:06.585 - Linux, but we're all human and can make 255 00:10:06.585 --> 00:10:07.085 - mistakes. 256 00:10:07.705 --> 00:10:11.040 - So having that third party check of IIROC 257 00:10:11.660 --> 00:10:14.320 - gives confidence to the clinic, to the physicist 258 00:10:14.779 --> 00:10:17.420 - that's on-site, and ultimately to the patients that 259 00:10:17.420 --> 00:10:19.279 - their machines are calibrated correctly. 260 00:10:19.899 --> 00:10:22.059 - In the same way, a third party commissioning 261 00:10:22.059 --> 00:10:22.559 - service, 262 00:10:22.975 --> 00:10:25.455 - especially one that goes through the extra effort 263 00:10:25.455 --> 00:10:27.695 - to check it against as many datasets as 264 00:10:27.695 --> 00:10:28.195 - possible, 265 00:10:29.054 --> 00:10:32.174 - can provide a great deal of comfort to 266 00:10:32.174 --> 00:10:34.575 - the facility and to the on-site physics that 267 00:10:34.575 --> 00:10:36.115 - their machine is modeled well. 268 00:10:36.735 --> 00:10:40.070 - Okay. So One Physix uses, they have some 269 00:10:40.070 --> 00:10:42.649 - proprietary software, a tool called Quadrant. 270 00:10:44.149 --> 00:10:45.750 - What what's this? How does it work, and 271 00:10:45.750 --> 00:10:47.690 - and what advantages does it offer? 272 00:10:48.950 --> 00:10:51.350 - Yeah. So Quadrant is a software that was 273 00:10:51.350 --> 00:10:51.850 - developed 274 00:10:52.764 --> 00:10:55.085 - many, many years ago. I guess the first 275 00:10:55.085 --> 00:10:57.745 - version of Quadrant was developed many years ago 276 00:10:58.125 --> 00:11:00.225 - specifically for some of these reasons. 277 00:11:01.565 --> 00:11:03.424 - My predecessor, Mark DeWeese, 278 00:11:03.884 --> 00:11:04.384 - was 279 00:11:04.889 --> 00:11:07.070 - going around the country commissioning machines 280 00:11:08.490 --> 00:11:10.490 - more than I think most people would be 281 00:11:10.490 --> 00:11:12.649 - willing to in the modern era. He gave 282 00:11:12.649 --> 00:11:13.870 - up a lot of his time, 283 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:16.990 - a lot of his personal life to commission 284 00:11:17.690 --> 00:11:18.190 - the 285 00:11:18.705 --> 00:11:21.125 - swath of machines that he had experience with. 286 00:11:21.504 --> 00:11:23.684 - But as a lot of people did historically 287 00:11:23.904 --> 00:11:26.245 - before some of these new technologies got developed, 288 00:11:27.024 --> 00:11:28.325 - he was still performing 289 00:11:29.264 --> 00:11:31.345 - a lot of the analysis for these data 290 00:11:31.345 --> 00:11:32.700 - in Excel sheets 291 00:11:33.580 --> 00:11:35.519 - and, you know, manual reviews 292 00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:38.700 - of Microsoft Office documents where he had to 293 00:11:38.700 --> 00:11:41.580 - just look and check with his eyes to 294 00:11:41.580 --> 00:11:42.639 - confirm these things. 295 00:11:43.660 --> 00:11:45.820 - At some point, he realized that this was 296 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:48.715 - just a very tedious error prone process and 297 00:11:48.715 --> 00:11:50.954 - that even though he was very good at 298 00:11:50.954 --> 00:11:52.875 - it, very experienced and he knew what he 299 00:11:52.875 --> 00:11:55.615 - was looking for, again, he was a human 300 00:11:55.835 --> 00:11:56.335 - and 301 00:11:57.195 --> 00:12:00.570 - something like that is the highest risk 302 00:12:01.370 --> 00:12:03.149 - point for someone performing commissionings. 303 00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:07.549 - So he hired software developers and custom created 304 00:12:07.690 --> 00:12:08.190 - software 305 00:12:08.730 --> 00:12:09.789 - that would specifically 306 00:12:10.809 --> 00:12:12.910 - take the data that we take from these 307 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:13.950 - water tanks 308 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:17.134 - and analyze it at speed with the precision 309 00:12:17.134 --> 00:12:19.054 - of a computer so that it could kick 310 00:12:19.054 --> 00:12:19.294 - out, 311 00:12:20.735 --> 00:12:21.235 - variations, 312 00:12:21.615 --> 00:12:22.115 - errors, 313 00:12:22.654 --> 00:12:23.394 - odd readings, 314 00:12:23.855 --> 00:12:25.475 - and give objective 315 00:12:26.574 --> 00:12:27.634 - full field analysis 316 00:12:28.179 --> 00:12:30.120 - of all of the data so that he 317 00:12:30.500 --> 00:12:33.220 - initially could be individually confident in what he 318 00:12:33.220 --> 00:12:33.879 - was doing. 319 00:12:34.820 --> 00:12:38.120 - We've since developed that software to be 320 00:12:38.500 --> 00:12:41.379 - incredibly powerful. We're able to use it to 321 00:12:41.379 --> 00:12:44.554 - analyze and process data faster than anyone else, 322 00:12:45.975 --> 00:12:48.074 - and to a much greater extent. 323 00:12:49.174 --> 00:12:51.975 - Our data pace can process hundreds of thousands 324 00:12:51.975 --> 00:12:52.634 - of points 325 00:12:53.095 --> 00:12:54.314 - in seconds 326 00:12:54.774 --> 00:12:56.639 - and provide large scale reports 327 00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:59.059 - for clients and for us. 328 00:13:00.160 --> 00:13:01.840 - So this is what you'd you'd always use 329 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:04.000 - if if someone from One Physics goes to 330 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.160 - do the commissioning, they'd always use the Quadrant 331 00:13:06.160 --> 00:13:06.660 - tool? 332 00:13:07.440 --> 00:13:11.684 - Absolutely. Quadrant is integral to the work of, 333 00:13:12.945 --> 00:13:14.704 - I would say, in general, it's integral to 334 00:13:14.704 --> 00:13:16.084 - the work of most physicists 335 00:13:16.464 --> 00:13:19.105 - at one physics regardless of what service they're 336 00:13:19.105 --> 00:13:21.924 - providing. But certainly on the commissioning and ancillary 337 00:13:21.985 --> 00:13:23.759 - services team, Quadrant 338 00:13:24.379 --> 00:13:27.179 - is absolutely integral to what we do. You 339 00:13:27.179 --> 00:13:29.659 - know, some some of our commissioning physicists might 340 00:13:29.659 --> 00:13:30.399 - be working 341 00:13:30.779 --> 00:13:33.100 - very long days to get all of this 342 00:13:33.100 --> 00:13:35.339 - data collected in a timely manner, ten to 343 00:13:35.339 --> 00:13:36.159 - twelve hours. 344 00:13:36.674 --> 00:13:38.995 - And we have the software that as we're 345 00:13:38.995 --> 00:13:39.495 - working, 346 00:13:40.035 --> 00:13:40.535 - if 347 00:13:41.315 --> 00:13:43.554 - one of the team does do something stupid 348 00:13:43.554 --> 00:13:46.274 - as we are also humans, the software will 349 00:13:46.274 --> 00:13:48.035 - alert us immediately to that and say, you 350 00:13:48.035 --> 00:13:50.115 - know, hey. This reading you just took doesn't 351 00:13:50.115 --> 00:13:50.580 - make sense. 352 00:13:51.139 --> 00:13:52.980 - Are you sure? Go back and look at 353 00:13:52.980 --> 00:13:53.639 - it again. 354 00:13:54.179 --> 00:13:56.440 - And now we don't have to worry about, 355 00:13:56.899 --> 00:13:58.120 - Oh man, did 356 00:13:58.580 --> 00:14:01.299 - we accidentally upload it, say a 10 X 357 00:14:01.299 --> 00:14:03.080 - beam? Is it 15 X beam? 358 00:14:03.504 --> 00:14:04.004 - And 359 00:14:04.464 --> 00:14:07.105 - now we have to do secondary analysis, maybe 360 00:14:07.105 --> 00:14:09.204 - come back to site. All of that stopped 361 00:14:09.345 --> 00:14:12.485 - in advance. We get a near immediate feedback 362 00:14:12.865 --> 00:14:14.404 - to a high level of precision 363 00:14:14.865 --> 00:14:17.264 - about, is this data good? Is this data 364 00:14:17.264 --> 00:14:19.019 - representative of this type of machine? 365 00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:21.679 - Is this something we can use to model? 366 00:14:23.899 --> 00:14:25.660 - And and you mentioned a couple of times 367 00:14:25.660 --> 00:14:28.080 - that it makes the commissioning faster. 368 00:14:29.179 --> 00:14:31.179 - Why is that so important for health care 369 00:14:31.179 --> 00:14:31.679 - centers? 370 00:14:33.179 --> 00:14:35.825 - So speed, again, I I kind of alluded 371 00:14:35.825 --> 00:14:37.585 - to this earlier, but the way that the 372 00:14:37.585 --> 00:14:39.285 - health care industry is moving, 373 00:14:40.304 --> 00:14:42.245 - nowadays with changing to reimbursements 374 00:14:43.184 --> 00:14:43.684 - and, 375 00:14:44.545 --> 00:14:45.764 - just kind of general 376 00:14:46.759 --> 00:14:47.899 - production requirements 377 00:14:48.279 --> 00:14:49.580 - that hospitals need 378 00:14:50.039 --> 00:14:52.519 - to stay profitable, to stay solvent, whether they're 379 00:14:52.519 --> 00:14:54.299 - for profit or not for profit. 380 00:14:56.360 --> 00:14:58.059 - They need to be operating 381 00:14:59.105 --> 00:15:01.845 - the high value services like radiation oncology 382 00:15:02.544 --> 00:15:03.684 - as much as 383 00:15:04.065 --> 00:15:04.565 - practicable. 384 00:15:05.184 --> 00:15:05.684 - So, 385 00:15:06.544 --> 00:15:08.404 - you know, you can imagine you're 386 00:15:08.945 --> 00:15:11.445 - you're some hospital, you've spent $10.15, 387 00:15:11.504 --> 00:15:12.725 - dollars 40,000,000 388 00:15:13.799 --> 00:15:16.120 - opening up this new cancer center. That's a 389 00:15:16.120 --> 00:15:18.620 - very large line item on your book, 390 00:15:19.160 --> 00:15:19.660 - and 391 00:15:20.840 --> 00:15:23.320 - you need to recover that money to stay 392 00:15:23.320 --> 00:15:25.500 - solvent. You need to perhaps, 393 00:15:25.865 --> 00:15:27.804 - be independent of the financial aspect, 394 00:15:28.345 --> 00:15:31.065 - this community has a need for cancer care. 395 00:15:31.065 --> 00:15:32.924 - You know, maybe this is a rural center 396 00:15:33.384 --> 00:15:36.365 - that's hours away from the nearest major metropolitan 397 00:15:36.424 --> 00:15:38.504 - area where these services are available. And you 398 00:15:38.504 --> 00:15:39.720 - have patients now 399 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:41.259 - that need therapy. 400 00:15:42.120 --> 00:15:42.779 - By using, 401 00:15:43.319 --> 00:15:46.199 - third a very fast and efficient third party 402 00:15:46.199 --> 00:15:47.500 - service like OnePhysics, 403 00:15:48.279 --> 00:15:50.779 - we can take that maybe four week timeline 404 00:15:50.839 --> 00:15:53.054 - that your site physicist might be using and 405 00:15:53.054 --> 00:15:55.875 - compress it into only a few days. 406 00:15:56.495 --> 00:15:58.894 - We work over weekends. So as you know, 407 00:15:58.894 --> 00:16:01.554 - they maybe the machine installer finishes 408 00:16:01.934 --> 00:16:03.315 - on a Thursday or Friday, 409 00:16:04.014 --> 00:16:06.095 - we'll be there all weekend taking that data 410 00:16:06.095 --> 00:16:07.235 - and modeling the machine. 411 00:16:07.850 --> 00:16:10.889 - And frequently, we're able to hand the data 412 00:16:10.889 --> 00:16:13.210 - book and models back to the site the 413 00:16:13.210 --> 00:16:15.610 - following Monday so they can get going and 414 00:16:15.610 --> 00:16:16.670 - get ready for treatment. 415 00:16:17.529 --> 00:16:18.029 - Excellent. 416 00:16:18.490 --> 00:16:20.649 - So and then once the LINAC is being 417 00:16:20.649 --> 00:16:21.950 - used to treat patients, 418 00:16:23.565 --> 00:16:25.105 - can Quadrant be used, 419 00:16:25.804 --> 00:16:27.985 - after commissioning for for other things? 420 00:16:29.485 --> 00:16:32.605 - Yes. In fact, that's something that, again, I've 421 00:16:32.605 --> 00:16:34.304 - I've mentioned that Quadrant 422 00:16:34.684 --> 00:16:36.705 - continued to get developed over time. 423 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:39.679 - One of the things we realized once we 424 00:16:39.679 --> 00:16:40.740 - had this database 425 00:16:41.519 --> 00:16:44.159 - of the initial commissioning data that we took 426 00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:45.059 - on these machines 427 00:16:45.600 --> 00:16:48.959 - was that our periodic QA that physics performs 428 00:16:48.959 --> 00:16:50.259 - either monthly or annually, 429 00:16:51.445 --> 00:16:53.465 - the reference that we always set 430 00:16:53.845 --> 00:16:56.404 - is to the initial commissioning data. You know, 431 00:16:56.404 --> 00:16:57.544 - we want to confirm 432 00:16:57.924 --> 00:17:00.664 - that the machine is not drifting away 433 00:17:01.125 --> 00:17:03.205 - from that information that was entered into the 434 00:17:03.205 --> 00:17:05.285 - treatment planning system. We want it to be 435 00:17:05.285 --> 00:17:05.785 - consistent 436 00:17:06.620 --> 00:17:08.320 - day after day, year after year. 437 00:17:08.940 --> 00:17:09.440 - Well, 438 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:11.660 - given the fact that we have that initial 439 00:17:11.660 --> 00:17:12.160 - data, 440 00:17:12.539 --> 00:17:15.120 - we realized that it would be very easy 441 00:17:15.180 --> 00:17:18.299 - to construct different tools and utilities to perform 442 00:17:18.299 --> 00:17:20.244 - some of these required tests that you see 443 00:17:20.244 --> 00:17:22.744 - in documents like t g one forty two 444 00:17:23.044 --> 00:17:24.505 - and have a 445 00:17:26.724 --> 00:17:27.224 - instant 446 00:17:27.605 --> 00:17:28.664 - accurate comparison 447 00:17:29.365 --> 00:17:31.144 - to the original commissioning data. 448 00:17:32.164 --> 00:17:34.025 - So we've developed that 449 00:17:35.849 --> 00:17:37.470 - configuration within Quadrant, 450 00:17:37.849 --> 00:17:39.929 - which also helps us to either on some 451 00:17:39.929 --> 00:17:42.089 - of the sites that we provide PhysX service 452 00:17:42.089 --> 00:17:42.589 - directly 453 00:17:43.130 --> 00:17:45.529 - or some sites that reach out to us 454 00:17:45.529 --> 00:17:47.210 - to take off some of the QA load 455 00:17:47.210 --> 00:17:49.210 - from them and perform either monthly or annual 456 00:17:49.210 --> 00:17:49.710 - QAs. 457 00:17:50.809 --> 00:17:54.304 - We can perform those periodic QAs also at 458 00:17:54.304 --> 00:17:56.884 - speed to a high level of objective accuracy, 459 00:17:57.664 --> 00:17:59.444 - referencing their commissioning systems. 460 00:18:02.065 --> 00:18:04.784 - So and you mentioned that so One Physics 461 00:18:04.784 --> 00:18:07.105 - also offers as well as commissioning, you offer 462 00:18:07.105 --> 00:18:10.220 - services such as annual or monthly QA. 463 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:13.580 - Are there any other services within radiotherapy? 464 00:18:15.960 --> 00:18:18.700 - Yes. Absolutely. So I I think that 465 00:18:19.320 --> 00:18:20.759 - we try to be as much of a 466 00:18:20.759 --> 00:18:23.259 - one stop shop as we can. Right? 467 00:18:24.015 --> 00:18:26.974 - So from an ancillary contract perspective, we absolutely 468 00:18:26.974 --> 00:18:30.195 - offer monthly and annual QA services as needed. 469 00:18:30.815 --> 00:18:32.815 - This is becoming a more common ask as 470 00:18:32.815 --> 00:18:35.474 - the shortage of medical physicists is really constraining 471 00:18:36.414 --> 00:18:39.154 - the available efforts of local physicists. 472 00:18:40.140 --> 00:18:42.140 - We can take the these, you know, forty 473 00:18:42.140 --> 00:18:44.539 - plus hour QAs and compress them into a 474 00:18:44.539 --> 00:18:45.039 - weekend 475 00:18:45.340 --> 00:18:47.759 - so that your site physicist doesn't have to 476 00:18:47.820 --> 00:18:49.740 - spend that time and can instead focus on 477 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:50.799 - their local patients. 478 00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:54.380 - But we also offer various validations for sites 479 00:18:54.380 --> 00:18:57.075 - that maybe want to get into stereotactic treatment 480 00:18:57.075 --> 00:18:59.394 - that were not originally intended for that. We 481 00:18:59.394 --> 00:18:59.894 - can 482 00:19:00.515 --> 00:19:03.174 - come in, work on that system, quantify it, 483 00:19:03.955 --> 00:19:06.994 - provide good recommendations and new sets of specific 484 00:19:06.994 --> 00:19:09.349 - small field data so that they can treat 485 00:19:09.349 --> 00:19:11.529 - some of these smaller, more aggressive lesions. 486 00:19:13.109 --> 00:19:16.390 - We perform shielding surveys and analyses. So if 487 00:19:16.390 --> 00:19:16.890 - something 488 00:19:17.509 --> 00:19:19.769 - happens or we're installing new equipment, 489 00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:23.109 - we'll come out and do a comprehensive shielding 490 00:19:23.109 --> 00:19:23.609 - evaluation 491 00:19:24.070 --> 00:19:26.794 - that's compliant with NCRP one fifty one and 492 00:19:26.794 --> 00:19:29.134 - provide that so the physicist doesn't have to 493 00:19:29.434 --> 00:19:30.335 - go back and 494 00:19:30.794 --> 00:19:32.954 - pick up a bunch of meters and design 495 00:19:32.954 --> 00:19:35.194 - their survey. We have systems set in place 496 00:19:35.194 --> 00:19:36.329 - to do it at speed. 497 00:19:36.890 --> 00:19:38.569 - So that's I mean, you've got quite a 498 00:19:38.569 --> 00:19:42.169 - broad portfolio of services there. Is it mostly 499 00:19:42.169 --> 00:19:44.890 - the smaller clinics that are looking to outsource 500 00:19:44.890 --> 00:19:46.429 - these medical physics services? 501 00:19:47.849 --> 00:19:49.630 - You know, it's a it's a combination, 502 00:19:49.974 --> 00:19:52.394 - honestly, and I think that different people outsource 503 00:19:52.454 --> 00:19:53.514 - for different reasons. 504 00:19:54.054 --> 00:19:56.615 - As you mentioned, oftentimes, it is these small 505 00:19:56.615 --> 00:19:58.474 - clinics. There's a center that 506 00:19:59.734 --> 00:20:02.934 - I recently was assisting with annual QAs that 507 00:20:02.934 --> 00:20:05.335 - is in a very rural area of the 508 00:20:05.335 --> 00:20:07.470 - South, and they have a physicist that has 509 00:20:07.470 --> 00:20:08.130 - to drive, 510 00:20:08.830 --> 00:20:11.470 - three hours, one day a week to provide 511 00:20:11.470 --> 00:20:14.190 - them some amount of physics service because there 512 00:20:14.190 --> 00:20:16.210 - is just no one else out there. 513 00:20:17.150 --> 00:20:19.470 - That physicist is doing that in addition to 514 00:20:19.470 --> 00:20:20.289 - his normal 515 00:20:20.590 --> 00:20:22.805 - weekly workload at the center that he works 516 00:20:22.805 --> 00:20:24.984 - at in a more major metropolitan area. 517 00:20:25.765 --> 00:20:28.484 - So he's already stretched incredibly thin. This is 518 00:20:28.484 --> 00:20:30.404 - this is someone who does not have the 519 00:20:30.404 --> 00:20:33.204 - time or capacity to perform annual QAs for 520 00:20:33.204 --> 00:20:33.809 - this clinic 521 00:20:34.210 --> 00:20:36.230 - despite their desire to help. 522 00:20:37.170 --> 00:20:39.090 - So we are filling that gap in that 523 00:20:39.090 --> 00:20:41.170 - rural community so that they can continue to 524 00:20:41.170 --> 00:20:43.890 - provide quality cancer care. But on the flip 525 00:20:43.890 --> 00:20:44.390 - side, 526 00:20:44.930 --> 00:20:46.390 - we've also had contracts 527 00:20:46.850 --> 00:20:47.295 - with, 528 00:20:47.695 --> 00:20:48.914 - some major universities 529 00:20:49.215 --> 00:20:52.015 - for commissioning work or for shielding work, for 530 00:20:52.015 --> 00:20:52.515 - example. 531 00:20:53.055 --> 00:20:55.295 - And I think the biggest bit of feedback 532 00:20:55.295 --> 00:20:56.674 - I get from those institutions 533 00:20:56.975 --> 00:20:58.595 - is that they did want 534 00:20:58.975 --> 00:21:01.535 - a third party service of experts to come 535 00:21:01.535 --> 00:21:03.059 - in so that they didn't make an error, 536 00:21:03.539 --> 00:21:06.039 - Right? These are physicists that are working 537 00:21:06.340 --> 00:21:08.279 - constantly, but they're working constantly 538 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:10.759 - in a very high 539 00:21:11.299 --> 00:21:14.360 - stress, very high throughput environment, 540 00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:17.539 - working on direct chart checks, patient care, these 541 00:21:17.539 --> 00:21:19.715 - kinds of things. And they haven't commissioned a 542 00:21:19.715 --> 00:21:21.015 - machine in fifteen years. 543 00:21:22.835 --> 00:21:25.475 - They don't want their machine to end up 544 00:21:25.475 --> 00:21:27.235 - coming out with an error just because of 545 00:21:27.235 --> 00:21:27.894 - an oversight. 546 00:21:28.595 --> 00:21:30.515 - And so they they come to us for 547 00:21:30.515 --> 00:21:32.134 - that independence, for that 548 00:21:32.470 --> 00:21:33.990 - quality that they know that they don't have 549 00:21:33.990 --> 00:21:35.910 - to worry about what it's going to be, 550 00:21:35.910 --> 00:21:37.350 - and we're gonna give them all of that 551 00:21:37.350 --> 00:21:39.590 - data to review so they can have the 552 00:21:39.590 --> 00:21:41.850 - utmost level of confidence in their systems 553 00:21:42.309 --> 00:21:44.595 - while they're working these incredibly long hours. 554 00:21:46.355 --> 00:21:48.755 - Okay. And and so you've mentioned that there's 555 00:21:48.755 --> 00:21:51.974 - sort of a shortage of on-site medical physicists 556 00:21:52.115 --> 00:21:54.595 - in some areas. Is this a trend that 557 00:21:54.595 --> 00:21:57.015 - you're seeing within medical physics? 558 00:21:58.515 --> 00:21:59.015 - Absolutely. 559 00:21:59.394 --> 00:22:00.214 - So there's 560 00:22:01.039 --> 00:22:03.359 - there's been a shortage kind of I I 561 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:04.960 - used to say there's a shortage on the 562 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:05.460 - horizon, 563 00:22:06.319 --> 00:22:08.880 - ever since the residency requirement got put into 564 00:22:08.880 --> 00:22:11.519 - place to get boarded in medical physics, which 565 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:12.404 - was very necessary. 566 00:22:22.965 --> 00:22:24.825 - Support and expertise that they were getting. 567 00:22:27.910 --> 00:22:28.730 - But that 568 00:22:29.669 --> 00:22:30.250 - that requirement 569 00:22:30.710 --> 00:22:31.690 - created a bottleneck, 570 00:22:32.630 --> 00:22:35.910 - and the amount of physicists that can that 571 00:22:35.910 --> 00:22:38.650 - can enter residencies and complete them each year 572 00:22:39.025 --> 00:22:41.204 - is now below the threshold 573 00:22:43.904 --> 00:22:46.304 - that, really, that the industry needed to kind 574 00:22:46.304 --> 00:22:49.744 - of maintain full physics staffing throughout the entire 575 00:22:49.744 --> 00:22:50.244 - country. 576 00:22:51.025 --> 00:22:52.884 - And so now we're starting to see, 577 00:22:53.369 --> 00:22:55.769 - as physicists have retired and the as the 578 00:22:55.769 --> 00:22:58.009 - general shift of the labor force has moved 579 00:22:58.009 --> 00:22:58.829 - in that direction, 580 00:22:59.529 --> 00:23:01.549 - there's simply not enough bodies 581 00:23:02.009 --> 00:23:04.089 - to cover all of the cancer centers throughout 582 00:23:04.089 --> 00:23:06.730 - the country that we need to take care 583 00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:07.545 - of these patients. 584 00:23:09.225 --> 00:23:09.965 - That's not 585 00:23:11.625 --> 00:23:14.105 - something that's easy to solve. There are a 586 00:23:14.105 --> 00:23:15.164 - lot of organizations 587 00:23:15.705 --> 00:23:17.305 - that are working as hard as they can 588 00:23:17.305 --> 00:23:20.345 - to try and get more quality physicists out 589 00:23:20.345 --> 00:23:22.105 - into the market so that we can fill 590 00:23:22.105 --> 00:23:24.630 - this need. But at the moment, I think 591 00:23:24.630 --> 00:23:26.710 - anyone who's been trying to hire recently will 592 00:23:26.710 --> 00:23:27.210 - note 593 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:30.149 - it's a challenge, especially if you're in a 594 00:23:30.149 --> 00:23:32.169 - rural area to find someone 595 00:23:32.549 --> 00:23:33.049 - who 596 00:23:33.509 --> 00:23:35.109 - is even willing to talk to you to 597 00:23:35.109 --> 00:23:37.345 - come out. There's just not enough of us. 598 00:23:38.044 --> 00:23:39.984 - Gosh. And this is due to this residency 599 00:23:40.444 --> 00:23:41.904 - requirement that you mentioned? 600 00:23:43.404 --> 00:23:45.585 - I I think that was the initial driving 601 00:23:45.724 --> 00:23:47.264 - force. Again, it's 602 00:23:47.884 --> 00:23:49.589 - it's a very important requirement. 603 00:23:50.069 --> 00:23:50.730 - You know, 604 00:23:51.109 --> 00:23:51.929 - very historically 605 00:23:52.390 --> 00:23:54.169 - when we were doing cobalt teletherapy, 606 00:23:54.710 --> 00:23:58.009 - there wasn't nearly as much to medical physics. 607 00:23:59.269 --> 00:24:01.450 - But as time has gone on, as technology 608 00:24:01.509 --> 00:24:03.045 - has increased so much, 609 00:24:04.005 --> 00:24:06.184 - there really is a requirement for a 610 00:24:07.445 --> 00:24:07.945 - reinforced 611 00:24:08.325 --> 00:24:10.965 - stout education for physicists that are practicing in 612 00:24:10.965 --> 00:24:11.545 - the field. 613 00:24:12.484 --> 00:24:13.144 - The residency 614 00:24:13.684 --> 00:24:16.920 - requirement makes sense. I myself actually am a 615 00:24:16.920 --> 00:24:17.420 - residency 616 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:18.460 - instructor 617 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:20.619 - in a partnership with a university, 618 00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:21.819 - and 619 00:24:23.079 --> 00:24:26.119 - there are a large amount of physicists that 620 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:28.734 - are working very hard to produce as many 621 00:24:28.734 --> 00:24:30.515 - quality residents as we can. 622 00:24:31.855 --> 00:24:32.994 - But, again, the field 623 00:24:33.535 --> 00:24:36.015 - is just so complex, and there are so 624 00:24:36.015 --> 00:24:38.494 - many places throughout the country that need physics 625 00:24:38.494 --> 00:24:40.755 - support that we're running into a shortage. 626 00:24:41.694 --> 00:24:42.595 - So, I mean, 627 00:24:43.309 --> 00:24:46.029 - final question. You know, with this increased need 628 00:24:46.029 --> 00:24:47.169 - for medical physicists, 629 00:24:48.349 --> 00:24:49.329 - what are the opportunities 630 00:24:49.630 --> 00:24:52.450 - for those interested in working in this field? 631 00:24:52.509 --> 00:24:53.809 - Does one physics 632 00:24:54.429 --> 00:24:57.335 - have any residency programs it can help with? 633 00:24:59.075 --> 00:25:01.015 - We do. We do. As I mentioned, 634 00:25:01.554 --> 00:25:04.755 - I'm an instructor in a residency program that 635 00:25:04.755 --> 00:25:07.954 - is partnered with the university specifically, so I'm, 636 00:25:07.954 --> 00:25:09.815 - you know, technically in a university 637 00:25:10.194 --> 00:25:10.694 - residency 638 00:25:11.154 --> 00:25:11.654 - system. 639 00:25:12.109 --> 00:25:14.690 - But one physics separately from that 640 00:25:15.070 --> 00:25:17.730 - has, I believe, four residencies 641 00:25:18.350 --> 00:25:19.970 - in therapy and one 642 00:25:20.590 --> 00:25:24.590 - in diagnostic physics, and they're expanding as much 643 00:25:24.590 --> 00:25:26.450 - as we can make them. There's a significant 644 00:25:26.590 --> 00:25:27.075 - push 645 00:25:27.954 --> 00:25:30.994 - from the administration of one physics recognizing this 646 00:25:30.994 --> 00:25:32.375 - need in the community 647 00:25:33.075 --> 00:25:35.794 - to increase the amount of quality physicists that 648 00:25:35.794 --> 00:25:36.855 - are being produced. 649 00:25:38.194 --> 00:25:39.174 - We've hired, 650 00:25:39.554 --> 00:25:40.934 - medical physics assistants 651 00:25:41.279 --> 00:25:43.299 - at some centers where that makes sense, 652 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:45.600 - that are folks that are trying to get 653 00:25:45.600 --> 00:25:48.559 - into the field, and we've spent a fair 654 00:25:48.559 --> 00:25:51.039 - amount of time attempting to leverage those medical 655 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.055 - physics assistants into our residencies. 656 00:25:53.535 --> 00:25:55.634 - Residency. I think that's a common 657 00:25:56.255 --> 00:25:58.894 - experience for people who graduate with their degree 658 00:25:58.894 --> 00:26:01.455 - and don't immediately match to a residency. They 659 00:26:01.455 --> 00:26:03.555 - end up being a medical physics assistant. 660 00:26:06.200 --> 00:26:08.200 - We we try and find people who are 661 00:26:08.200 --> 00:26:10.779 - qualified in this way, give them some additional 662 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:12.700 - kind of on the job training, 663 00:26:13.160 --> 00:26:13.900 - and then 664 00:26:14.200 --> 00:26:16.599 - leverage them into residencies and try and get 665 00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:18.279 - them trained so that we can get them 666 00:26:18.279 --> 00:26:21.384 - boarded and have them actively participating in the 667 00:26:21.384 --> 00:26:23.644 - field of medical physics at the highest capacity. 668 00:26:25.065 --> 00:26:27.224 - Excellent. So the company is sort of helping 669 00:26:27.224 --> 00:26:29.884 - to train the medical physicists of the future. 670 00:26:30.664 --> 00:26:32.444 - As much as we can. Absolutely. 671 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:34.339 - Brilliant. Right. 672 00:26:35.200 --> 00:26:37.279 - Okay. Well, that's great. Well, thanks very much 673 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:38.900 - for talking with us today. 674 00:26:40.079 --> 00:26:41.680 - Indeed. Thank you for having me. It's been 675 00:26:41.680 --> 00:26:42.339 - a pleasure. 676 00:26:50.444 --> 00:26:53.105 - That was James Gilts of one physics 677 00:26:53.484 --> 00:26:54.304 - in conversation 678 00:26:54.845 --> 00:26:57.105 - with physics world's Tammy Freeman. 679 00:26:57.724 --> 00:27:00.924 - I'm Hamish Johnston, and our producer is Fred 680 00:27:00.924 --> 00:27:01.424 - Iles. 681 00:27:02.099 --> 00:27:04.900 - The music for this episode is called one 682 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:05.799 - three seven, 683 00:27:06.099 --> 00:27:08.119 - and it was composed and performed 684 00:27:08.420 --> 00:27:09.400 - by the physicist 685 00:27:10.019 --> 00:27:11.160 - Philip Moriarty. 686 00:27:13.539 --> 00:27:15.240 - One Physics is The USA's 687 00:27:15.859 --> 00:27:16.359 - largest 688 00:27:16.724 --> 00:27:18.825 - outsourced medical physics provider, 689 00:27:19.525 --> 00:27:21.464 - trusted by over 4,000 690 00:27:21.525 --> 00:27:22.025 - clients. 691 00:27:22.644 --> 00:27:26.984 - We proudly deliver diagnostic and therapy physics services, 692 00:27:27.444 --> 00:27:29.304 - linear accelerator commissioning, 693 00:27:29.940 --> 00:27:30.440 - dosimetry 694 00:27:30.819 --> 00:27:31.799 - treatment planning, 695 00:27:32.099 --> 00:27:34.919 - and radiation safety officer services 696 00:27:35.460 --> 00:27:35.960 - nationwide. 697 00:27:36.899 --> 00:27:39.799 - We are experts in medical physics services 698 00:27:40.179 --> 00:27:41.079 - and radiation 699 00:27:41.380 --> 00:27:44.119 - safety and can support your organization, 700 00:27:44.845 --> 00:27:48.205 - whether you need annual physics testing to meet 701 00:27:48.205 --> 00:27:49.505 - regulatory guidelines 702 00:27:50.125 --> 00:27:52.865 - or are looking to implement a theranostics 703 00:27:53.325 --> 00:27:53.825 - program. 704 00:27:54.525 --> 00:27:57.565 - We are experts in all areas related to 705 00:27:57.565 --> 00:27:59.825 - physics and radiation safety 706 00:28:00.380 --> 00:28:04.460 - With national scale and a local relationship driven 707 00:28:04.460 --> 00:28:04.960 - approach, 708 00:28:05.420 --> 00:28:07.200 - our best in class physicists 709 00:28:07.660 --> 00:28:11.840 - bring precision and personalized care to every facility 710 00:28:12.059 --> 00:28:12.799 - we serve. 711 00:28:13.304 --> 00:28:15.404 - In the world of medical physics, 712 00:28:15.784 --> 00:28:17.484 - precision isn't optional. 713 00:28:17.865 --> 00:28:18.924 - It's everything. 714 00:28:19.704 --> 00:28:23.565 - One Physics, your trusted partner in medical physics, 715 00:28:23.865 --> 00:28:24.365 - linear 716 00:28:24.744 --> 00:28:25.884 - accelerator commissioning, 717 00:28:26.264 --> 00:28:27.884 - and radiation safety. 718 00:28:28.670 --> 00:28:30.609 - Learn more about our approach 719 00:28:30.910 --> 00:28:32.369 - to radiation safety, 720 00:28:32.750 --> 00:28:34.450 - or schedule a personalized 721 00:28:34.910 --> 00:28:35.410 - consultation 722 00:28:36.029 --> 00:28:38.529 - @1physics.com.